Senator sees action soon on Obama trade nominee

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 - The Senate Finance Committee will soon hold a hearing on the nomination of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to be President Barack Obama's chief trade negotiator, the panel's chairman said on Tuesday.

"I think we're having a markup next week," Senator Max Baucus told Reuters, adding he did not know of any hitches that could derail the nomination at this point.

"No, none that I'm aware of," Baucus said.

Obama picked Kirk to be U.S. trade representative more than two months ago. But Senate action on the nomination took a back seat to work in Congress on a mammoth economic stimulus package and the consideration of Cabinet nominees.

U.S. business groups are anxious to hear Kirk outline the Obama administration's plan for dealing with a number of issues leftover from the Bush administration.

Those include free trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, as well as the Doha round of world trade talks which is now in its eighth year.


Source: http://news.alibaba.com/